Feb 12th 2008
Star City, Russia
MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russian doctors gave two would-be space tourists,
Richard Garriott and Nik Halik, a clean bill of health paving the way for specialist training
and a flight to the space station, a spokesman said Monday.
"Richard Garriott and Nik Halik have been allowed to undergo special physical
training at Star City. No contraindications were detected in the candidates against training
and the flight to the International Space Station," Mark Belakovsky from the Medical Biological Problems Institute said. Earlier, Sergei Tafrov, a deputy head of the Yury Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, said sixth space tourist Garriott, 46, the son of former NASA astronaut Owen K. Garriott and a U.S. game developer, and Halik, 38, an Australian entrepreneur, are already undergoing physical training and studying Russian.
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I do not particularly fancy the SPACE TOURISM tag line. Private spaceflight is more than space tourism. It is the next generation of spaceflight. By rocketing to space as privately funded and trained civilian astronauts, Richard and I have the mandate to conduct activities that go beyond those available to government funded NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. We have the ability to conduct activities of our choosing,and that could have a commercial benefit. From performing scientific research on behalf of a space agency, university or private company, to conducting educational programs with students all over the world or seeking publicity for a valid cause for humanity, we have innovative plans to add value to both our spaceflight experiences. Our customized missions and the possibilities are only bound by the imagination.
Also today, Richard and I were presented to the military brass on the base and to all our trainers. We were given platform time to speak, share our background and vision for our upcoming spaceflights.
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